Androphobia
by the ticklish pear
Summary: Nicole decides to work her psychologist job from home to help pay the bills as Jessi moves into the Trager house. Her first patient is Androphobic,fear of men, and proves to be a difficult case to crack. Read to learn what happens next!
1. Chapter 1

It was like a dream, with vision blurred and unfocused, yet other senses heightened and unnatural. Dew dripped in a constant flow off the ceiling of the dank, dark warehouse and created a haunting rhythm with the haggard breathing sounding throughout the room. A cool breeze seeped through the cracked walls and traveled across the arm of a girl tied in sitting upright to a large metal pole. The cold air brought her somewhat out of her trance-like state as she once again remembered where she was. Goosebumps formed over the lengths of her arms, but not from the cold…

_They'll be back. _She thought as a feeling of dread washed over her like a tidal wave. For the thousandth time, she tugged at the bonds that held her wrists, but they were no more willing to give than they were an hour ago. She gave up the battle with the ropes and slowly maneuvered herself into a different position while trying to ignore every sore and pained muscle in her body that screamed in protest. Rain began to tap on the smudged windows above, and soon the whole roof was beat upon by the downpour. But there was something else, yes, another sound that she heard besides the thrumming of the rain. It buzzed in her ear like a bug she couldn't see; she just couldn't figure it out.

The warehouse door scraped open and let in a column of light. She squeezed her eyes shut as the sudden brightness enveloped her. Shadows rippled across her eyelids as policemen manned with flashlights filed into the room. She opened her eyes slowly, trying to let them get used to the light and the flurry of activity around her.

The officers went up to each of the captives and checked their status.

"Damn it!" exclaimed an officer after finding another fatality. "They must of known that we'd caught up and high tailed it out of here a few days ago." Crime scene investigators were also going around gathering data and taking pictures of each victim for evidence. A tall officer with dark hair and blue eyes started towards her and she drew in her breath as he came near. He shined his light in her face and nudged her in the side with his foot. She automatically shrank away from his touch.

"Hey, we've got a live one over here." He shouted to an EMT, which hurried to his side. She shifted in nervousness as the EMT checked her vitals. They were closer to her than she would like them to be.

"Don't worry sweetheart, we'll get you out of here as soon as a CSI takes some pictures." Said the officer, mistaking her body language as a sign of anxiousness.

She was soon cut free of her bonds and lifted onto a stretcher. Realization donned on the officer's face as he made a connection he had not noticed before.

"Hey, you're that Brown girl that everyone has been searching for. That's your name isn't it? Charlotte Brown?" he said as he looked into her eyes, searching for understanding. His word flipped a switch in her head.

_Yes, that's me. _She thought, _Then this really isn't just a dream. I'm going to be safe; I'm going to live. _

They rolled her outside where the last few drops of the subsided rain fell onto her face. It was really happening, she was leaving this horrid place and would never have to think of this again. Yet, she could not smile, not even a little bit, for fear of her newfound hope to be ripped away, which would be much worse than never having hope at all. So she closed her eyes and waited with an emotionless as they lifted her into the ambulance and secured the doors. She began to drift off as the ambulance jerked to a start. There was that sound again, but this time she knew what it was… Sirens.


	2. chapter 2

Kyle stifled a yawn as he walked into the kitchen. Nicole was at the stove flipping pancakes while Josh and Lori fought over the box of orange juice.

"Good morning Kyle," said Nicole "Did you have a good sleep?"

"Yes." He said and smiled warmly at her.

"Where's Jessi?" She asked.

"I let her have the shower first." He grabbed a glass and plate from the cabinet and took a seat next to Josh.

"Kyle, she's not even been here a week yet and you're already letting her take over. It's just not right my man." Said Josh as he stuffed a piece of toast into his mouth.

"She's not taking over," said Kyle "we're taking turns."

"But it's your job as her big brother to make her life as miserable as possible. None of this happy, sharry cra-----."

"Oh yeah?" Lori piped in " What if I royally embarrassed you every time you leave the toilet seat up?"

"Our relationship is different, older sisters are supposed to be bothered by younger brothers. Besides, what makes you think it's me? There are three men living in this house."

"Because dad knows better and because Kyle is a gentlemen." She said and smiled warmly at Kyle.

"What about Declan? He could be coming here to put the toilet seat up for kicks." Lori gave Josh a dirty look as Nicole came to the table and put pancakes on their plates.

"Has Lou called yet?" Asked Kyle referring to the man who contacted Nicole with new patients.

"No, but don't worry, I'll be swamped with work before you know it." Said Nicole. Kyle got up to fetch the syrup from the fridge and grabbed another plate as Jessi walked into the room, hair still slightly damp.

"I think something is wrong with the shower." She said, "The hot water wouldn't come on."

"Great, see what I mean Kyle? Now she's the one making _**us**_ miserable." Said Josh.

"Josh!" Yelled Kyle, Lori, and Nicole in unison.

"Wait, Jessi it's not what it sounds like. I was referring to … something else." Said Josh as he realized how his comment had come over.

"No, it's okay. I understand how hard it must be on everyone now that I'm living here." Said Jessi.

"Jessi, you're no burden here. We're the ones who invited you to stay, remember?" Said Nicole as she served Jessi some pancakes.

"But, you've had to pick your job back up."

"And you're worth every bit of it." Said Nicole as she kissed Jessi on the top of the head. Jessi managed a small smile at Nicole and began to drain syrup onto her pancakes.

"Great, glad that's settled, but this doesn't explain how the rest of us are going to have decent showers." Stated Josh. Nicole chuckled and said:

"I'll boil some water."

Just as Nicole set several large pots on the stove, the phone began to ring.

"Oh, hey Lou … No I'm not busy right now." Said Nicole and mouthed to Lori 'could you fill these up?' She walked out of the kitchen towards her office.

"Don't worry about it Lori. Jessi and I can check out the hot water heater. Do we have an owner's manual?"

"That's a dad question." Stated Lori.

"What question?" Said Stephen as he walked into the kitchen.

"Do we have the owner's manual to the hot water heater?"

"Yeah, I think it's in the cabinet in the laundry room." He replied

Nicole walked back into the room and set the phone back onto its console.

"I see my first patient today." She announced.

"You look nervous." Said Kyle.

"It's been awhile since I've seen someone. I just hope I'm ready enough."

" I'm sure you'll do fine." He assured her. Nicole gave him a warm smile and put her hand on his shoulder.

"So give us the dirt." Said Josh "Do we have another alien on our hands?"

"You know I can't disclose that information." Said Nicole "Besides, I don't know that much myself."

"What if we guessed? You wouldn't be revealing anything then." Said Lori.

"You'll find out when everyone else does." Said Nicole now more than a little annoyed.

"Everyone else?" repeated Jessi as she looked toward Kyle "As in mass media?"

"Has there been anyone in the newspaper or on the news for anything of a traumatic nature?" Kyle asked Josh and Lori.

"Oh! Oh! What's that girl's name that's been all over the news for disappearing in that park?" said Josh excitedly.

"Charlotte Brown?" Said Jessi.

"Yes! Nice teamwork!" Exclaimed Josh and put his hand up for a high five. But Jessi looked at him like he was crazy and he awkwardly lowered his hand.

"They found her?" Asked Lori.

"I guess so." Said Nicole, confirming their guess as correct.

"What happened to her? Where did they find her?" Lori asked Nicole.

"I told you I don't know anything. Now go take your showers before you are late for school." Said Nicole as she ushered them out of the kitchen. Kyle and Jessi headed toward the laundry room and found a dirty, slightly slimy owner's manual in the back of the cabinet above the washer and dryer. They flipped through the book and easily read the three hundred and fifty one page book in less than a minute.

"I'll look over the wiring." Said Jessi as she moved the water heater away from the wall.

"I'll check the connections to the water line." Said Kyle.

"Found it" Said Jessi "Looks like a rat chewed through some wires."

"They are our enemies." Said Kyle.

"What?" said Jessi confused.

"Nothing." Said Kyle as he caught an odd look on Jessi's face. "Is something worrying you?"

"I'm afraid that if the press finds out that Nicole is seeing that Brown girl it will increase the chances of our secret getting out." She admitted.

"We'll just have to be more careful." Said Kyle "But I don't think it will go that far. I'm sure Nicole has everything under control." Jessi didn't look too convinced. They spliced the wires together and slid the water heater back into position.

"Everything will be fine." Kyle assured her.


	3. Chapter 3

After the kids took their showers and left for school, Nicole gathered up her things and headed to her car. She backed out of the garage mindful of the garbage cans and mailbox, and headed towards the hospital. She breathed in and out deeply, preparing herself for the session. She mentally went through a list of things to do after work as she pulled into the parking lot and headed for the administrative office. Lou was standing near the nurse's desk when he took notice of her.

"Hey Nicole, it's good to have you back." he greeted as he gave her a handshake.

"It's good to be back." she said as he led the way down the hall. "So what do you have for me this time?" He handed her a manila envelope.

"Brown, Charlotte, age 17, height 5'6", brown hair and gray eyes. She went missing two months ago, and was found in an abandoned warehouse by the police yesterday around 1:30 PM. She was involved in a human trafficking operation with thirteen other females, ages ranging from fifteen to twenty-one." He stopped short from a door about ten feet away and turned to face Nicole with a sad and serious look on his face.

"Nicole, I think there is something you should know." he said and glanced around to make sure that no one was near enough to over hear. "Not all of those girls made it and she's in pretty bad shape herself. It can be hard to see kids like this, especially when you have kids of your own. I just want to make sure that your ready to face this emotionally." She took a deep breath before nodding. He seemed convinced and stepped aside and let her walk by. She paused before the door when he didn't follow.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked.

"I'm not allowed to be in there." he said with a slight smirk on his face.

"Why not?" she questioned. It seemed odd to her.

"You'll find out." he said and walked away with his hand in a wave. She quickly reviewed the file again before taking a deep breath and stepping into the room. The gaunt-looking girl lay strapped to her hospital bed in the bright, plain room. The room was full of the hum and rhythm of the monitors that were wired to the girl. Nicole walked closer and studied her pale face and watched the steady rise and fall of her chest. She spotted a chair by the wall and pulled it over to the bedside and retrieved a notepad and pen from her purse. Charlotte cracked open her eyes at the noise and stared blankly at the wall in front of her. Nicole waited for her to make eye contact, but she never did. So, she gave talking to her a try.

"Charlotte, My name is Nicole Trager and I am here if you would like to talk about anything." Charlotte gave no indication as to weather she had heard her and continued to stare at the wall. Nicole jotted this down on her notepad and tried again.

"Is there anything you would like me to do or get for you?" again she was silent. A male nurse walked into the room to check on Charlotte's vitals and monitors for anything unusual. Charlotte's eyes snapped to the nurse and her heart monitor began to beat with a newfound speed. She struggled against the straps that bound her to the bed as he got closer to her. Nicole sat in a state of shock as the confused nurse tried to calm her down. A female nurse heard the commotion and ran into the room with a scowl on her face.

"Back away, back away!" she ordered and administered a sedative through the IV.

"I thought it was posted that no male personnel are allowed to be in here." She scoffed annoyed.

"Sorry, I didn't see anything that indicated that." He said and scooted out of the room. The sedative took affect and Charlotte fell into a slumber.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Said the nurse to Nicole as she checked that all the tubes in wires were still in place.

"No, it's okay, I needed to see that. I'm her therapist…Nicole Trager." She said and shook hands with the nurse.

"Becky."

"It's nice to meet you. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" asked Nicole.

"Sure."

"How long has she been reacting like this?"

"Since she woke up in the hospital, but the police and the paramedics told us that she acted perfectly normal towards them." Said Becky.

"Has she spoken to anyone?"

"Nope, not even to her family."

"Are they still here?"

"They were here this morning, but we convinced them to go home and rest before it gets crazy around here. I can give you their number if you would like it."

"That would be great." Nicole replied. Becky grabbed a hold of her clipboard, jotted the number down on the corner of the paper, and handed it to Nicole.

"Well, I best be going before someone misses me. Good Luck." Said Becky. She walked out the door and began to examine all around the outside of the doorway and walls. She looked annoyed as she unstopped the open door and tore a sign from its front.

"What moron puts a sign on the front of a door and then makes it to where no one can see it?" she said as she slapped the sign up on the wall beside the door and walked up the hall muttering to herself. Nicole took a few minutes to put her thoughts down on paper before gathering up her things and heading to the door. She went through all the symptoms in her head and could only think of one thing: androphobia. It was obviously some sort of post-traumatic stress disorder that pertained to the event, but why she didn't react that way to the police and the paramedics was a mystery to her.


	4. Chapter 4

"So, how'd it go?" Lori asked Nicole as she set her schoolbooks down on a chair by the stairs it the front hall. The others filed in and tried to look uninterested as they awaited her answer, but Nicole didn't respond.

"Oh come on mom, we already know who it is. Could you at least tell us if she is okay?" Nicole decided that they would have to know sooner or later anyway and spilled the beans.

"Well, health wise she is recovering, but mentally not so much."

"She was hurt?" said Kyle. She gave Kyle a worried look.

"Now, all of you, understand that what I am about to tell doesn't leave this house, and that I am only telling this because I need everyone's full cooperation." They all nodded in agreement, eager for the information. "She was involved in a human trafficking incident and by the way she looks, I don't think she was treated very well. Now it seems that she has a severe case of Androphobia; although she showed no sign of it until she was in the hospital."

"What's androphobia?" asked Josh.

"An abnormal and persistent fear of men. Sufferers experience anxiety even though they may realize they face no real threat." Jessi blurted out. The others stared at her with slight shock and amazement like they usually did when Kyle or Jessi did their thing. "What? I got bored and read some of Nicole's psychology books."

"What did she say to you?" asked Lori after she recovered from Jessi's comment.

"Nothing, she didn't even acknowledge that I was there, but she really freaked out when this male nurse came in to check on her. She probably would of jumped right from the bed and dashed out the door if she hadn't been restrained." Said Nicole as she looked around at them all. "I plan on bringing her here for her sessions after she is released from the hospital to make her feel more comfortable, but I need to make sure that everyone is aware of the kind of situation we will have around here. Bringing her here would mean a lot of flack from the media and I just want to make sure that you all are on board."

"Mom, we get it. In case you haven't noticed, we have been keeping these two aliens a secret for a while now." Said Josh.

"I wouldn't mind meeting her." Said Lori in agreement. Nicole looked at Kyle and Jessi.

"We can handle it." Said Kyle after meeting her gaze. Jessi looked uneasy but kept silent behind Kyle's shoulder. Nicole turned her gaze to Stephen.

"If everyone else is okay with it, then I guess I'm in."

***************************** TIME ** LAPSE *******************************

Two weeks later, Charlotte was scheduled to arrive that afternoon to start her sessions with Nicole. She recovered swiftly, but was still as silent as a lamb to everyone around her. A nurse carted her up to a blue mini van and began to start the short journey to the Trager's house.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * ** * * * ** * * * * * ** * * ** * * ** * * * * **

"Guys, when she gets here, I need you to pick a place and stay there. If she sees just one glimpse of a man, it could ruin everything." Said Nicole as she flittered around the house getting her things together.

"Did you hear that Lori? I'm a man." Said josh as he made his way down stairs. Lori threw a jacket at him.  
"Didn't mom tell you to go to your room, diaper man?" said Lori, referring to a past embarrassment.

"I thought we agreed to not discuss that in public, binkie-winky." Josh retorted.

"Okay, Okay, just don't annoy me today and we'll call it even." Kyle and Jessi walked into the hall talking in hushed voices.

"What if the media does find out that she is coming here? We'll be watched 24/7." Said Jessi.

"It will be fine. We'll just have to be more careful about what we do around here."

"I just don't want to risk all that we have on a stranger."

"Jessi, you were that stranger once. She deserves to have a chance just as much as you did when you came here." Jessi looked taken aback.

"I didn't think of it like that. I'm sorry." Nicole walked into the room with a look on her face.

"How do we get her into the house if she's in a wheelchair?"

"Kyle could lift her------ wait, never mind. I forgot the whole guy thing." Said Lori.

"I'll do it. I'll just pull her up the front steps." Said Jessi.

"That would be great." said Nicole as she looked out the front door window. A blue mini van pulled up in front of her house and parked on the side of the street. "Here she is. Go on everyone, and don't come out till I come get you. Let's go Jessi." Nicole and Jessi headed out the door as Kyle, Josh, and Stephen went to camp out in their rooms. The nurse opened the sliding door and helped her into her wheelchair. Jessi walked nervously behind Nicole as they made their way down the sidewalk.

"Hello, Charlotte. This is Jessi. She'll be pushing you up the stairs if that's okay with you." Said Nicole as she motioned to Jessi to take the wheelchair handles. Jessi pushed her up the sidewalk as Nicole stayed behind to discuss Charlotte's behaviors with the nurse.

"I used to go to Nicole," Jessi whispered to charolette. "She really helped me out a lot and I'm glad she made me get my feelings out even though I didn't want to help myself at the time. Just give her a chance to let her help you." Jessi pulled her up the stairs (in mock effort) and pushed her into Nicole's therapy room. She turned to leave the room but hesitated and gave charlotte a small smile. Then, somewhat confused by her actions, she left the room in a hurry before Nicole could see her in this odd state of mind.


	5. Chapter 5

Charlotte leaned over in her wheelchair and studied the room around her. Her eyes traveled across the many books in the shelf to several smiling faces in the picture frames on the desk. A set of colored pillars lying on the desk caught her eye. She strained to move closer and grabbed a hold of the pastel set. She touched a dark blue and rubbed the pigment in between her thumb and forefinger. Nicole stopped at the doorway and watched Charlotte as she took the pastels and rubbed several colors onto scrap paper.

"Do you like to draw?" asked Nicole. Charlotte jumped in surprise, and the pastels fell to the floor.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Said Nicole as they both began to pick up the scattered pastels. After they cleaned them up, Nicole brushed her hands off on her jeans and grabbed a sketchbook.  
"I was going to give this to you later, but you might as well have it now." Charlotte grabbed the book from her hands, opened the front cover, and ran her hand over the textured paper.

"Draw anything you like. I'll be back in a little while." Said Nicole and walked out of the room. Charlotte peered after her, and when she was certain that she was gone, began to swipe melancholy colors over the blank sheet.

Meanwhile…

Kyle and Jessi were hanging out in their room playfully arguing over exactly where the boundary between his and her half lay.

"You're marking it wrong, it should be 5 mm to the left." Said Jessi as Kyle was kneeling on the floor putting a line of masking tape across the floor.

"What makes you think that?" said Kyle.

"That corner near the window is about a half of a degree acute."

"No it's not, that corner makes up a perfect triangle."

"Are you questioning my calculation?" Said Jessi.

"Well, are you questioning mine?" Kyle spat back.

"Maybe…"

"I don't see why we have to do this anyway. Why can't we just share all the space?"

"Because I like to watch you struggle." Said Jessi and giggled. Kyle gave her a look and sat down in his computer chair. They sat in silence for a while until Josh sneaked quickly into the room.

"Josh, what are you doing?" said Kyle as Josh climbed into his tub.

"I'm bored out of my mind upstairs, so I came down to see what you guys were doing."

"Nicole is going to be ticked if she finds you in here." said Jessi.

"I'll just tell her that I have computer trouble."

"Somehow I doubt that that will go over well." Kyle and Jessi gave each other a look.

"Why don't you go see if Andy is on G-Force?" Kyle suggested. Something clicked in Josh's head.

"Wait, this is more than just a suggestion isn't it? This is one of those alien things that you have going on." Kyle raised his eyebrows slightly and a small smile formed in the corners of his mouth. Josh almost jumped from the tub to the door, made sure the coast was clear, and disappeared down the hall. Kyle and Jessi smiled at one another.

"That was almost too easy."

Meanwhile, back in Nicole's room…

Charlotte was blending the scene before her into an abstract perfection when Nicole walked back into the room.

"That didn't take long." Said Nicole as she stood perched over Charlotte's shoulder. "May I take a look?" Charlotte handed her the sketchbook. Nicole held in her hand an image of the moment when Charlotte was saved: a picture of the light flooding through the warehouse door. The drawing was very different from Kyle and Jessi's. Instead of using a pixilated technique, she streaked the colors across the page, creating a slightly blurred, abstract effect.

"This is very good. I've had some other patients that have taken to drawing as well." Said Nicole as she sifted through a stack of papers. "You met Jessi. This is one of hers when she first started to see me. And these are Kyle's. He was a lot like you: very quiet and rediscovering the world after a traumatic experience. He lives here with my family. Maybe you would like to meet him." Papers fell from Charlotte's lap as she jumped up from her wheelchair and stumbled to the hallway. Nicole was slightly stunned at her sudden regain of strength and went after her. Charlotte had almost made it to the door, but stopped dead cold when she spotted Josh at the foot of the stairs with a deer caught in the headlights look on his face. She quickly darted past him into the kitchen but slipped out the other doorway back into the hall because half of Stephen was sticking out of the refrigerator. She ran to the door at the end of the hall and quickly closed it behind her. The lightheadedness from her quickly rising finally caught up with her and she slid down the wall to the floor and waited for her vision to come back. Her breath caught in her throat as Kyle and Jessi faded into view. Jessi went over to her to help her up.

"It's okay, It's just Kyle. He won't hurt you, I promise." Jessi tried to hide Kyle from view, but Charlotte stared past her. Kyle watched as her facial expressions changed from fear to confusion. She took a step forward and tried to speak, but she found it difficult after being silent for so long. She cleared her throat and tried again.

"Why don't you change into them?" Her voice was shaky and barely over a whisper. Nicole burst into the room and hit Jessi with the door.  
"Oh, sorry Jessi, have you seen…." Nicole stared baffled at the sight around her. Charlotte was standing nearly seven feet from a male without running, jumping, or even shaking.

"Charlotte, this is Kyle." Nicole announced.

"Yeah, I know." She said without taking her eyes off him. She stepped warily within arms reach of him and shakily prodded his cheek with her finger. She quickly backed away.

"Hmm…" she muttered and walked out the door scratching her head with a confused and deep-in-thought look on her face.


	6. Chapter 6

A.N. Sorry to all my readers that I haven't uploaded in so long. My twin sister and I have finally settled into college so decided to let my creative juices roll with some cherished spare time and this is what i came up with. enjoy.

Charlotte stumbled back to Nicole's therapy room leaning on the wall heavily for support. Nicole followed behind her cautiously, her heart jumping every time Charlotte's ankles took a turn, her legs threatening to collapse beneath her. She made it back to her wheelchair and slowly lowered herself down onto its cool, faux leather cushions. Nicole stood in the doorway rubbing her eye tiredly with her palm; this had not gone well at all, yet, she managed to scrape out some progress from this near disaster of a session. She looked down at Charlotte, who was staring off into space and still panting slightly from her physical and emotional distress.

"Well," Nicole sighed, "I think that is enough for one day. Stay here and I will go and call the nurse to pick you up." Nicole took one last worried glance at her before heading to the kitchen to get the phone. When she was gone, Charlotte's mind snapped out of the post-traumatic hum that her mind sought out for emotional protection and raced in a flurry of activity.

_Why did he not change into them? I don't get it, what's so different about him compared to everyone else? Maybe nothing is different, maybe it's over, and maybe everything is back to normal…._ Her heart spasmed slightly at a strange sensation: Hope, something she had not felt since the day of her rescue, but like then, it felt like it could be ripped away in a flash. She wheeled herself over to the only window in the peaceful office and pulled her face up to the sill to peek out the window. The neighborhood was in a flurry of activity; cars streaked by each other in a glint of light while joggers and walkers roamed the sidewalks with their pets and strollers in tow. A man with a yellow lab passed by the Trager's house and glanced up at the window and spotted her pale face. His visage contorted into a vile image of the man who had done the most evil and unforgiveable things to her. She let out a small squeak and fell back down into her wheel chair, pulling her head out of view with both of her hands and horrible images resurfaced from the depths of her mind. Jessi walked by and heard a soft sobbing sound coming from the room and hesitantly creeped in. Charlotte was huddled in the fetal position in her wheelchair rocking methodically to try and sooth herself as she waited for the images to pass.

"What are you doing?" Charlotte's watery eyes shot up at Jessi, and she hastily began wiping away the tears.

"Hiding." She simply replied, sniffing loudly.

"From who?" said Jessi as she began to scan the room with her keen eyes.

"From the man outside the window." Jessi took several long strides and leaned over Charlotte to look out the window.

"I don't see anyone." She said as she backed away.

"He was there, I didn't make him up." Said charlotte, slightly annoyed at Jessi's bluntness.

"Why do you fear men so much anyway?" asked Jessi, who was becoming more curious of the strange girl by the minute.

"Because they can do horrible, horrible things to you." Said Charlotte, who then shuddered violently and pulled her knees tighter to her chest. Jessi's face softened as flashes of her own memory of her encounter with the man in the woods flew past. They sat in silence for a moment as Jessi filed through everything she knew about human trafficking and anger and pain built up in her chest.

"What did they do to you?" She asked with a little more than a hint of vengeance in her voice. Charlotte eyed her cautiously.

"I-I'd rather not talk about it." She stammered uncomfortably as she spotted Jessi's knuckles turning bone white as she gripped the armchair. It took Jessi a minute to calm herself down and when she did, she asked her another question that nagged at her mind.

"What did you mean when you asked Kyle why he didn't turn into them?" She remained silent, and just when Jessi thought she wasn't going to respond, Charlotte found her voice.

"I don't know why," she began slowly, "but when I see a guy, their face morphs into one of the faces of my captors and it scares the crap out of me. I try to tell myself that its okay and that it's not really them, but it's kind of hard to convince yourself not to fear." _Why am I telling her this? This is crazy. _Jessi seemed confused, but never the less gave her an answer.

"Trust Nicole, she helped both Kyle and me when we were lost and scared and didn't know what was going to happen to us. She is a really caring person, and I am grateful that both her and Kyle are in my life because without them I don't know what kind of person I would be." Nicole walked in and appeared slightly shocked to see Jessi and her patient with her body cramped up next to the wall.

"Jessi, what are you doing?" she inquired, not totally comfortable with the situation.

"Talking." Jessi said innocently, reminiscent to the time when Emily Hollander caught her making out with Declan.

"Well, could you please leave us alone for a little while? I need to discuss some things with Charlotte." Jessi quickly got up and walked out of the room all the while trying to read Nicole's odd emotion.

"Are you okay?" she asked Charlotte, who nodded her head in return. "Well, the nurse will be here in a couple of minutes to pick you up, and I just wanted to know if you would like to switch to another therapist. It's okay if you do, especially after what happened today." Charlotte thought for a moment, and shook her head. She felt better off here than anywhere she had stayed yet, and if Nicole could help Jessi and Kyle, maybe she could fix her. Nicole smiled with relief and gathered up the sketchbook and pastels.

"I want you to keep these and feel free to draw anything you like." Charlotte grasped them with both hands as Nicole rolled her into the hallway, where Jessi was sitting at the foot of the stairs. She took Nicole's place and guided Charlotte's wheelchair down the front door steps to the van. As the van pulled away, Charlotte lifted her hand in a silent good-bye and Jessi lifted her hand in return, as emotions ran rampant in her chest.

"Did she say anything to you?" Nicole asked as soon as the vehicle was out of sight.

"She told me that she was hiding from the man outside the window and when I asked her why she was afraid of men, she told me it was because they do horrible things. She told me when she sees a man, his face turns into one of the people who took her, and even though she knows it's not them, she is still afraid. I don't know why, Nicole, but I got so hurt and angry for her."

"It's because it hits close to home." Nicole answered.

"What does 'close to home' mean?"

" It means that you felt some of the things that she is going through because you had a similar experience with that man in the woods. Not the same, but similar." Jessi looked confused. "Don't worry Jessi, it's a good thing. It means that you can relate to other people." Jessi didn't seem too convinced. Nicole grabbed her shoulders.

"Come on, let's go inside and have some tea; it will make you feel better."

"No thanks, I think I'll just go find Kyle." Nicole smiled and rubbed her back in a motherly fashion before letting her go to have some alone time with her thoughts.


End file.
